Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Wall Street Futures Hover as Markets Await Fed; Nvidia Weakness in Focus

U.S. equity futures pointed to a subdued start on Wednesday, with Wall Street expected to open little changed as investors stayed cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.

Traders are widely betting that the Fed will deliver a 25 basis-point cut later today, though the bigger question lies in the central bank’s updated projections and Jerome Powell’s tone at the press conference. CME’s FedWatch tool places the likelihood of a quarter-point move at 94%, leaving only slim odds for a deeper reduction. Markets also anticipate two more cuts—one in October and another in December—but policymakers have signaled those will hinge on incoming data.

Pre-market sentiment took a hit from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which slipped 1.6% following a Financial Times report that Beijing has instructed its largest internet companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, to halt purchases of the chipmaker’s AI products.

The wait-and-see approach follows a choppy Tuesday session. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both touched fresh intraday records before losing steam, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 0.3% at 45,757.90, the Nasdaq down 0.1% at 22,333.96, and the S&P 500 lower by 0.1% at 6,606.76.

Economic data offered a bright spot, as U.S. retail sales surged 0.6% in August—triple market expectations and matching July’s revised pace. Still, the upbeat report did little to shift sentiment as traders focused squarely on the Fed.

Sector performance remained mixed. Gold miners retreated sharply, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down 2.3%, while utilities also weakened, with the Dow Jones Utility Average falling 1.6%. By contrast, energy names rallied strongly, rising alongside crude oil prices and pushing both the NYSE Arca Oil Index and Philadelphia Oil Service Index up 2.2%.

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